Temple Grandin, a leading advocate for encouraging autistic children to tap into their strengths, will be a keynote speaker at Thirteen’s Celebration of Teaching and Learning in March 2009. Diagnosed with autism herself, she has used her unique abilities to design structures for the humane treatment of slaughterhouse animals. She offers her comments on autism, creativity, and our school system…

Grandin on Autism and its causes

Temple Grandin, who describes her mind as “thinking in Google images,” has used her visualization skills to design livestock facilities for the humane treatment of slaughter animals, which are used by over half of the meatpacking plants in the US.

In her 1995 book “Thinking in Pictures”, she described how when she draws blueprints, she images how each part will operate. “When I design a piece of equipment, I can test-run it in my head like a 3D-virtual reality computer system,” she said. Her condition has led her to some interesting design solutions.

Grandin has Asperger’s Syndrome–a mild form of autism–which means that her mind works differently, and makes it difficult for her to interact socially. Grandin points out that every person with autism is different. Individuals who have severe autism face challenges that can include self-injurious behaviors and mental retardation, though there are others who are highly functional.

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of reported cases of severe autism, which has increased public awareness, and led to renewed interest in the cause of autism and whether or not there is an environmental connection to the disease.

However, as Grandin explains, reported cases of Asperger’s and other milder forms of autism have not gone up. It is difficult to determine whether this is due to the methodology of reporting, undercounting, or that these conditions have plateaued. As Grandin explains, “Kids with Asperger’s used to be called geeks and nerds; it has only recently begun to be recognized as a disorder; the quirky and odd kids are the ones that get tortured in school, not the kids who are obviously handicapped.”

Grandin speaks from personal experience. Diagnosed with Asperger’s, she was teased throughout her childhood. “High school was the worst part of my life. My only refuge was horseback riding and special interest clubs. In the dining hall and cafeteria I was teased relentlessly because I didn’t understand all of the boyfriend-girlfriend stuff.”

Asperger’s and creativity

While kids with Asperger’s are usually the ones who get made fun of, they are also extremely intelligent. “Everyone with autism is detail-oriented,” she said. There are music and math thinkers–who may need special education in reading, but could be computer programmers when they grow up–and word-fact thinkers, who love lists and can grow up to be print or radio journalists, or library scientists.

Grandin is good at thinking in photorealistic pictures, but she is unable to grasp simple concepts such as numbers. Grandin, who flunked out of algebra in school, said teachers approach her all the time seeking advice: “How do I get the pictures out of my student’s head?” or “I have a student who is board stiff in algebra, but great in geometry–what should I do?” Grandin said a creative teacher would give the student geometry to practice after algebra class.

People with autism have uneven skills, and it is important to build up their strengths, according to Grandin. “It’s okay for kids to have obsessions. If all a kid wants to do is draw trains, then let the kid draw trains. Show the kid how to draw a train station.” To Grandin’s way of thinking, a fascination with trains may reveal a talent for drawing or graphic design, or lead to a job connected with the railroad industry.

“Parents and teachers should also be asking the question, “What are they going to do when they grow up?” It is a shame for a kid who has the potential to be a computer programmer to end up washing dishes or working at a convenience store. Grandin said what is so sad is that these children can contribute to society–just as she has–but that some are made to feel that their contributions are not welcomed or appreciated and therefore become totally dependent on family or social services for support.

Autism in the Classroom

“Teachers tend to focus on the disability,” Grandin said. Ironically, the autism diagnosis which forms a basis for special attention and assistance may further distance the autistic child from his or peer group and create more isolation and alienation.

While mild forms of autism can also include unique gifts of perception and problem solving, more severe forms can be numbing and leave children adrift and without the basic skills to function throughout their lives. Verbal skills may never develop beyond early childhood levels, and analytical skills may be similarly compromised.

She is concerned today that the American education system often works to the disadvantage of children with mild forms of autism, in ways that are not at all obvious.

For example, according to Grandin, requiring children to wear uniforms would benefit autistic children, who invariably dress out of fashion and are ridiculed by other kids. She’s observed first-hand that even in poorer countries, such as the Philippines, the uniform requirement really helps autistic kids.

For kids on the autistic spectrum, social etiquette needs to be taught in a concrete and matter-of-fact way. It’s better to be overly formal with autistic children, she explains. Grandin says she was lucky to have grown up in the 1950s when social rules and manners were more structured. “I learned early on that if I did not like Granny’s cookies with green things in them, I would just say ‘No, thank you’.”

Grandin could not speak until she was three. She lived in a world without language. She attributes her success to the fact that: “I was lucky to get very good early education and have had a great high school science teacher as a mentor, who motivated me with different science projects.”

Grandin on the recent economic crisis

Today, when Grandin sees the billions of dollars that are being handed out to bail out wealthy people who had every advantage and made terrible choices, she wishes that just a small part could be spent on people who’s greatest wish is to have a chance to contribute and find a way to overcome the isolation of their lives. “The people on Wall Street….their talent was wasted. They could have been engineers,” she said.

“Wall Street got lost in the numbers–they could not visualize it or see the big picture.
When I think of the $700 billion bailout plan, I picture 140 LaGuardia Airports–that’s what the bailout could have created.” Grandin explains that she doesn’t look at the numbers–she knows there’s a big problem with the economy because the sees vacant shops and empty houses everywhere. “It’s not a good sign when you see an entire shopping center for sale with a banner above you get at Kinko’s.”

Grandin is gifted with some special visual insights, but translating them into ideas that work and can be communicated to others, she says, is a never-ending challenge.